Speaker 1: Hello, and thank you for watching our video today. We want you to know that the Federal Reserve has procedures to maintain vital financial services in a wide range of crisis situations. And it's very important that financial institutions also have strong contingency plans in place. As you review and implement your contingency plans, we want you to know that your account executive is here to assist. My name is Susan Bevins. I am an account executive in AAP and APRP, and I work with financial institutions located in the 8th District. That includes the entire state of Arkansas and portions of six other states. Those include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee. I'm joined today by my colleague, Amy Pasore, and I'm going to turn it over to her now so that she can introduce herself and share a few of our contingency tips.

Speaker 2: Hello, Susan, and hi to everyone that's viewing our video today. My name is Amy Pasore, and I have the pleasure of servicing financial institutions in the Philadelphia and Richmond Districts. My portfolio covers portions of Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. I agree that contingency plans are vital, more so now than ever. And there are several important factors to consider while building your contingency plans, such as planning for remote access. And let's not forget about having hard copies of important documentation. Many of the tips that we share today can also be found in greater detail on our FRPServices.org website.

Speaker 1: So, as your institution does need to maintain critical responsibilities, being prepared to work remotely is a very vital part of contingency planning. Our FedLine solutions can be accessed remotely, but all of the equipment used to access Federal Reserve Bank services must comply with our published hardware and software requirements. Your organization should also review FedLine security and control procedures. This will help you determine if alternate controls or processes might be appropriate to support the business continuity configurations. All of these documents can be found in the EUAC Center, which is available to the End User Authorization Contact, or EUAC, at your institution. You will want to be sure that you have these requirements outlined in your business continuity plans. Also, the Customer Contact Center for FedLine is a great resource for any technical questions that you might have. Contingency situations, from severe weather to unplanned staff outages, highlight the need for institutions to have options. The FedLine Command Electronic Connection, which is an unattended solution, can provide your institution connection options in times when your staff is unable to get to the office. Your account executive can provide you with more details on this solution.

Speaker 2: Well, we sure can, Susan, and the number of customers using FedLine Command increases with each passing day. Let's talk about ensuring your staff is trained and prepared to conduct critical payment processing, such as the FedWire Offline Services. While not really a primary option for contingency, this manual set is for prioritized transactions during limited contingency situations, and it does require specific authorization and procedures. Make sure that your code word list is current and readily available to authorized individuals. Business continuity plans should be printed for staff to reference as a hard copy, and these plans can look different for each organization. Some of the important information to include are your internal operating procedures, what about your backup plans, your organization information, and let's don't forget about staff contact information. You can reference frbservices.org for more important inclusions as well. The Business Continuity Resource Center list guides all of the Federal Reserve Services that are an important reference. Visit the contact page to print hard copies of Federal Reserve Bank contact information, which is particularly important to have on hand during disruptions in power or maybe internet access. Well, thank you for watching, and remember that the most successful contingency plans entails solid planning, frequent testing including, but not limited to, wires, ACH, deadline, and let's don't forget about the discount window, strong leadership, and active communications with all of your business partners. And if you have any questions, please contact your Federal Reserve Account Executive. And be on the lookout for more videos featuring our Account Executives covering a variety of topics on our services. Thank you. Bye-bye.